Milwaukee Mile to shape IndyCar title race
The 2024 IndyCar championship puzzle has just three pieces remaining, as the penultimate round heads to the Milwaukee Mile for a double header this weekend with Alex Palou and Will Power as the main contenders.
It’s the first time since 2015 that IndyCar has been to the 1.6km oval track, with two 250 lap races on offer, the 114th and 115th time hosting North America’s premier open wheel series.
As it stands, the recently dominant Alex Palou is well placed to inherit his third Astor Cup and second in a row, holding a 54 point lead (one race worth of maximum points) over Aussie Will Power.
If Palou leaves Milwaukee with a 55 point or greater gap, then the final race of the year at the Nashville SuperSpeedway will be dead rubber for the title picture – a rare occurrence in IndyCar, something which Palou managed last season with one of the most dominant years in recent memory.
Power last took out the Milwaukee Mile in 2014. Image: LAT
One thing that stands in the Chip Ganassi Spaniards way is his oval record, which currently has a big zero in its wins column despite his recent championship dominance, whilst Penske’s Power will be looking to add an 11th career oval win in his bid for a third title.
In the lead up to the race, Power – 43-years old – has again had to fend off accusations of retirement, despite his win in the last Portland round being the 44th of his career, and the seventh time he’s taken three or more wins in a single season, with three wins being an equal season high (alongside Palou) amongst drivers in 2024.
“I’m not retiring; I’m not. It’s just simply….Not retiring,” Power said with a firm iteration.
“I know people probably like to spread rumors or whatever in the hope that they can take my seat, but I’m staying here for a while.
“I’ll get better every year, man. I get better every year. I feel like that.”
Palou can clinch the title at Milwaukee if he leaves with a +55 point buffer to Power
With Colton Herta (-67), and Kiwi’s Scott McLaughlin (-88) and Scott Dixon (-99) still an outside mathematical chance, Palou’s unrelenting consistency makes their chances nigh on impossible, with Palou’s podium in Portland the 16th time in the last 31 races he’s featured on the steps.
Both Dixon and Power are the only active drivers to have registered victories at the Milwaukee Mile.
Saturday’s Race 1 will be on at 5:40pm local time, whilst Race 2 will be on Sunday at 2:30pm.
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